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Annual Meetings

The Silver Spring Civic Building provided a beautiful setting for the second annual meeting of Montgomery Sister Cities. Led by the volunteer committees of sister cities Morazán, El Salvador; Gondar, Ethiopia; Hyderabad, India and Xi'an, China the gathering of over 100 guests enjoyed food from Sister City countries, learned about volunteer opportunities and shared in a joyful celebration of the accomplishments of these dynamic committees and their vision for the coming year.

Among the special news shared was the successful delegation trip to Morazan where a contribution of $11,000 raised under the leadership of Councilman George Levanthal was presented to the San Francisco de Gotera Hospital. The Gondar committee announced their plans for a delegation to to travel to the city on late 2016, followed by an announcement by the Xi'an, China committee to return to China in 2017. The Hyderabad shared their efforts to welcome the new mayor of that sister city and continue to nurture the special bond between the city and Montgomery County.

Highlights of the evening included remarks by County Executive Isaiah Leggett who made a special presentation to The Honorable Mari Carmen Aponte, former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. Ms. Aponte made moving remarks about the importance of cultural awareness and diversity: "Nothing. Nothing. Nothing is more important than people to people democracy."

The evening ended with a lively presentation by Ethiopian dancers who got the audience on their feet and on the dance floor! Sister Cities is proud to bring the world to Montgomery County.

Sister Cities Holds Annual Meeting the Silver Spring Civic Building provided a beautiful setting for the second annual meeting of Montgomery Sister Cities. Led by the volunteer committees of sister cities Morazán, El Salvador; Gondar, Ethiopia; Hyderabad, India; and Xi’an, China, the gathering of over 100 guests enjoyed food from Sister City countries, learned about volunteer opportunities and shared in a joyful celebration of the accomplishments of these dynamic committees and their vision for the coming year. Among the special news shared was the successful delegation trip to Morazán where a contribution of $11,000 raised under the leadership of Councilman George Leventhal was presented to the San Francisco de Gotera Hospital. The Gondar committee announced their plans for a delegation to travel to the city on late 2016, followed by an announcement by the Xi’an, China committee to return to China in 2017. The Hyderabad committee shared their efforts to welcome the new mayor of that sister city and continue to nurture the special bond between the city and Montgomery County. Highlights of the evening included remarks by County Executive Ike Leggett who made a special presentation to The Honorable Mari Carmen Aponte, former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. Ms. Aponte made moving remarks about the importance of cultural awareness and diversity: “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing is more important than people to people democracy.” The evening ended with a lively presentation by Ethiopian dancers who got the audience on their feet and on the dance floor! Sister Cities is proud to bring the world to Montgomery County.

On January 13, 2015, supporters of Montgomery County’s four Sister Cities gathered at the Rockville Memorial Library for a celebration of the first six years of Montgomery Sister Cities, the nonprofit established in 2009 at the initiative of County Executive Ike Leggett to partner with the county government to develop a Sister City program. Montgomery Sister Cities Board Chair Theresa Cameron greeted the crowd and joined County Executive Leggett in presenting Founding Board Chair Bill Hudnut with a framed certificate of appreciation for his six years of service recruiting the board, incorporating the organization, and leading the organization during the selection of our first three Sister Cities.

County Executive Leggett expressed special appreciation to “all of those who have taken us to their native countries, made us feel at home, and taught us what it means to be a global citizen.” County Executive Leggett explained: “Our Sister Cities program provides us a greater knowledge of people from around the world and opportunities to make connections both from a cultural point of view, human contact point of view, but also from economic development point of view. We have a number of business that are clearly at the forefront of making contacts around the world. Our trips have enhanced those opportunities.”

Representatives of each of Montgomery County’s four Sister Cities — Morazán, El Salvador; Gondar, Ethiopia; Xi’an, China; and Hyderabad, India – briefed the crowd on their initiatives and hosted a display table at the event as did representatives from Rockville Sister City Corporation and Montgomery College’s Global Humanities Institute. Attendees enjoyed dumplings from Hollywood East Café and Mimi Hassanein’s marvelous Middle Eastern baklava while sipping Ethiopian coffee from Blessed Coffee. Each participant received copies of “Montgomery Sister Cities: Report to the Community 2009-2014.” Twenty new supporters received official “Montgomery Sister Cities” pins for making financial contributions at the meeting.